Böcker i Astronomers' Universe-serien

With a particular focus on London society and clockmakers, it weaves together historical narrative with practical know-hows and scientific fact, showing how the orrery changed from a fanciful toy to a high-tech instrument to a vessel for art and education.

Get ready to embark on the exciting search for dark matter¿the invisible mass that dominates our universe. This popular science book explains why this mysterious dark matter has been incorporated into the standard model of the universe and how scientists are able to ¿observe¿ the invisible. The book starts with the early indications of the existence of dark matter, including the strange cohesion of galaxy clusters, before moving on to modern observations like cosmic background radiation. Along the way, you will learn about the direct and indirect methods being used by researchers to track down dark matter and whatever is behind this strange phenomenon.The Mystery of Dark Matter will appeal to general readers who wish to understand what scientists actually know about dark matter, along with the methods they use to help crack the mystery. This book is a translation of the original German 1st edition Das Rätsel Dunkle Materie by WolfgangKapferer, published by Springer-Verlag GmbH Deutschland in 2018.The translation was done with the help of artificial intelligence (machine translation by the service DeepL.com). A subsequent human revision was done primarily in terms of content, so that the book will read stylistically differently from a conventional translation. Springer Nature works continuously to further the development of tools for the production of books and on the related technologies to support the authors.

In the four centuries since the phenomenon was first reported, highly reputable visual observers of Venus have recorded seeing the Ashen Light, while others have spent a lifetime searching for it without once being convinced that they ever saw it.Is the Ashen Light a trick of the eye?

Written by a professional astronomer who has worked on a wide spectrum of topics throughout his career, this book gives a popular science level description of what has become known as multimessenger astronomy. It links the new with the traditional, showing how astronomy has advanced at increasing pace in the modern era.In the second decade of the twenty-first century astronomy has seen the beginnings of a revolution. After centuries when all our information about the Universe has come via electromagnetic waves, now several entirely new ways of exploring it have emerged. The most spectacular has been the detection of gravitational waves in 2015, but astronomy also uses neutrinos and cosmic ray particles to probe processes in the centres of stars and galaxies. The book is strongly oriented towards measurement and technique. Widely illustrated with colourful pictures of instruments, their creators and astronomical objects, it is backed with descriptions of theunderlying theories and concepts, linking predictions, observations and experiments. The thread is largely historical, although obviously it cannot be encyclopaedic. Its point of departure is the beginning of the twentieth century and it aims at being as complete as possible for the date of completion at the end of 2020.The book addresses a wide public whose interest in science is served by magazines like Scientific American: lively, intelligent readers but without university studies in physics.

Starting out from humankind's earliest ideas about the cosmos, this book gives the reader a clear overview of our current understanding of the universe, including big bang theories and the formation of stars and galaxies, as well as addressing open questions.

The author of this book draws attention to ongoing and future observations that might reveal relics of an era before the big bang. In doing so, he provides an accessible introduction to the extraordinary new ideas of string cosmology.

This book explains in clear, non-mathematical language the measurements and the interpretation of the resulting data that have led to the current understanding of the origin, evolution and properties of our expanding Big Bang universe.

The Hipparcos project was hugely important in mapping our Galaxy. Here is a fascinating account of an important episode in astronomy, written by the scientist who played a pivotal role that brought it to fruition, and eventually to a triumphant conclusion.

This accessible book explores key discoveries in recent years of space exploration and addresses major questions such as: How prolific is life in the universe? How far back to the Big Bang can we probe? And what hidden treasures still lurk in our Solar System?

This fascinating book proposes a sound and realistic exploration on the topic of terraforming. The book presents what is physically possible today and hints what might conceivably be put into practice in the next several hundred years.

What about the future of the universe? And how long might the universe as we recognize it survive? This title takes the reader on a journey through space and time, beginning with a long look at the Earth and solar system, voyaging to the outermost galaxies, and finishing with speculations about the life and fate of the entire universe.

The book focuses on how the exploration of the cosmic background radiation has shaped our picture of the Universe. Using a simple language and captivating metaphors, this book will help the reader to understand the mechanisms behind our Universe.

Since ancient times, humans have been engaged in a continual quest to find meaning in and make sense of sights and events in the night sky. Cultures spread around the world recorded their earliest efforts in artwork made directly on the natural landscapes around them, and from there they developed more and more sophisticated techniques for observing and documenting astronomy.This book brings readers on an astronomical journey through the ages, offering a history of how our species has recorded and interpreted the night sky over time. From cave art to parchment scribe to modern X-ray mapping of the sky, it chronicles the ever-quickening development of tools that informed and at times entirely toppled our understanding of the natural world.Our documentation and recording techniques formed the bedrock for increasingly complex forays into astronomy and celestial mechanics, which are addressed within these chapters. Additionally, the book explores how nature itself has recorded the skies in its own way, which can be unraveled through ongoing geological and archaeological studies. This tale of human discovery and ingenuity over the ages will appeal to anybody interested in the field of astronomy and its rich cultural history.

In particular, the book discusses the formation of the Cosmic Microwave Background and the evolution of large scale structures in the universe, the distribution of galaxies and clusters of galaxies on very large distance scales.Following a brief introduction, the authors describe the scientific method - how science is done.

Since the invention of the telescope 400 years ago, astronomers have rapidly discovered countless celestial objects. But how does one make sense of it all?Astronomer and former NASA Chief Historian Steven J. Dick brings order to this menagerie by defining 82 classes of astronomical objects, which he places in a beginner-friendly system known as "Astronomy's Three Kingdoms." Rather than concentrating on technicalities, this system focuses on the history of each object, the nature of its discovery, and our current knowledge about it.The ensuing book can therefore be read on at least two levels. On one level, it is an illustrated guide to various types of astronomical wonders. On another level, it is considerably more: the first comprehensive classification system to cover all celestial objects in a consistent manner.Accompanying each spread are spectacular historical and modern images. The result is a pedagogical tour-de-force, whereby readers can easily master astronomy's three realms of planets, stars, and galaxies.

In the last 25 years, planetary science experienced a revolution, as vast oceans of liquid water have been discovered within the heart of the icy moons of our Solar System. These subsurface oceans lie hidden under thick layers of ice. We call them ocean worlds.Some of these icy moons, such as Ganymede, may hold two to three times more liquid water than all the water present on Earth, while others, such as Enceladus and Europa, are thought by astrobiologists to be our best hope of finding extraterrestrial life.In this book, we will explore and compare a variety of Solar System ocean worlds, meeting in the process 22 of the most intriguing objects, from the giant asteroid Ceres to the enigmatic, distant Sedna. In doing so, we will also encounter the multiple spacecraft that brought back most of what we know of these worlds (Pioneers, Voyagers, Cassini-Huygens, etc.), as well as the latest scientific research on this new topic.We will also entertain the possibility of life on each of these ocean worlds by assessing their habitability, as ultimately, these ocean worlds might hold the key to answering the fundamental questions in life: How did life appear? Where do we come from? Is there life out there? 

This is the story of Bernie Mills, Chris Christiansen, Paul Wild and Ron Bracewell, members of a team of radio astronomers that would lead Australia, and the world, into this new field of research.

This book looks at the persistence of life and how difficult it would be to annihilate life, especially a species as successful as humanity. This investigation puts life in its true astronomical context, with the reader taken on a journey to illustrate life's potential and perseverance.

Keeping in mind that we can only see the universe from the comfort of our home galaxy, Bascom begins his text by meticulously laying the necessary groundwork to understand the Big BangΓÇÖs mathematics without using any equations. He then paints a freeze-frame picture of our universe as if we had taken a three-dimensional picture with a giant camera. Within this picture, he traces forces beginning with the smallest (a single atom) to the biggest (the cosmos), keeping in mind that in this frozen moment everything further away from the observer spatially is also further away from the observer in time; that is, older. Soon a very real and very vivid image of the Big Bang appears (especially in things that are loud or hot), echoing down through time and into our everyday lives, reflected in every atom during every measurement. Then, slowly but deliberately, Bascom unfreezes this picture, ratcheting each moment from one to the next, showing us how and why quantum particles are constantly in contact with the Big Bang and why that allows the particles to pop in and out of existence from moment to moment, what a photon is, and what exactly we mean when we say that free space has energy.Whether youΓÇÖre interested in the Big Bang, the weirdness of quantum mechanics, or simply enjoy thinking about the biggest, loudest, and oldest things in our universe, this book will help you question your deepest notions about time and space, while staying firmly rooted in empirical observation. Throughout the text, Bascom sidesteps traditional non-fiction modes, using colorful explanations and vivid imagery to place the reader in simultaneous contact with both the Big Bang and fundamental particles. As a result, Bascom provides the tools and language necessary to contemplate the strangeness of our universe.

In response to the new information gained about the Solar System from recent space probes and space telescopes, the experienced science author Dr. John Wilkinson presents the state-of-the art knowledge on the Sun, solar system planets and small solar system objects like comets and asteroids.

This book gives a detailed introduction to the thousands and thousands of smaller bodies in the solar system. Readers will learn that small solar system worlds have a dramatically different nature and appearance than the planets.

This is the unique story of  observing a total solar eclipse for no less than 74 consecutive minutes. On the summer morning of June 30, 1973, the Sun rises on the Canary Islands. But it is strangely indented by the Moon. The eclipse of the century has just begun. From the west, the lunar shadow rushes to the African coast at a velocity of over 2000 kilometers per hour. Astronomers on the ground will enjoy seven short minutes of total eclipse to study the solar corona - too short for Pierre Lena and seven scientists who board the Concorde 001 prototype, an extraordinary plane to become the first commercial supersonic aircraft. With André Turcat as chief pilot and a crew of five, at 17000 m altitude, the aircraft remains in the lunar shadow for 74 minutes, a record time of scientific observations not yet beaten and allowing for exceptional measurements. Science, technology, aviation and history combine in the story of a unique human adventure aboard a legendary aircraft, illustrated with a rich and original iconography. It reflects the wonderful domains that science and technology can open, and the passion in the professions they offer. A must read for every eclipse chaser and fan of true scientific adventures.On the summer morning of June 30, 1973, the Sun rises on the Canary Islands. But it is strangely indented by the Moon. The eclipse of the century has just begun. From the west, the lunar shadow rushes to the African coast at a velocity of over 2000 kilometers per hour. Astronomers on the ground will enjoy seven short minutes of total eclipse to study the solar corona - too short for Pierre Lena and seven scientists who board the Concorde 001 prototype, an extraordinary plane to become the first commercial supersonic aircraft. With André Turcat as chief pilot and a crew of five, at 17000 m altitude, the aircraft remains in the lunar shadow for 74 minutes, a record time of scientific observations not yet beaten and allowing for exceptionalmeasurements. Science, technology, aviation and history combine in the story of a unique human adventure aboard a legendary aircraft, illustrated with a rich and original iconography. It reflects the wonderful domains that science and technology can open, and the passion in the professions they offer. A must read for every eclipse chaser and fan of true scientific adventures.

This book is about the history and future of life and the universe, written at a level that any educated lay-person can understand and enjoy.